salted rolo cookie bites

I’m a huge fan of Rolos. Or as Finley calls them, Rolios. Imagine our happiness when we saw that our local Target had ‘snack size’ bags of them on sale for $1.00.

We. Loaded. Up.

Then we came home and made these…

In hindsight, I’m laughing now. Thinking that $1.00 is a steal for snack size bags of candy seems so absurd.

My mom reminds me, quite often, that I have always had an affinity for sweets and that I was ‘that kid’ who trekked through the backyard woods on their very own well-beaten path to the local grocery store, armed with a sandwich bag full of coins and a mission to buy as much candy as their wee-little hands could carry home.

I faced many dangers, underground hornets nests and assorted varieties of garden snakes to name a few. It didn’t matter, I had candy on the brain.

It appears some things will never change. Well, except maybe the cost of sugary treats, and my willingness to face hornets and snakes. I have a family to provide for now, and they’d go hungry without me.

But, as usual… I digress. Although you have to admit, it’s entertaining to have a peek into my crooked psyche. Especially on a hopping Friday night. 😉

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, both sugars and vanilla until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.

Take 1 tbsp of the cookie dough and form a small flattened circle. Place one delicious Rolo caramel candy in the center…

and fold the dough around it then shape into a ball, covering the delicious Rolo caramel candy completely. Place on the prepared sheet pan (around 2″ apart to allow for spreading) and bake in the preheated oven for 8 – 10 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges but still soft in the center.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and shortening and microwave for 30 seconds then stir to melt completely. Drizzle randomly over the room temperature cookies and sprinkle with fleur de sel or coarsely ground sea salt…